Stubborn
by CristalDawn
Summary: Gaby goes after a mark by herself. She does the job well, but unknown to Illya and Solo gets nicked with a knife. Nothing she can patch up by herself. As Illya explodes in her face she tries to keep the misshappen to herself. But at what cost?
1. Chapter 1

Gaby Teller stripped down her blue summer dress and groaned at the bruises covering her body.

There were some minor cuts, but also a deeper one.

Carefully she disinfected it and bandaged it.

She didn't think it needed stitches and hell she would show Illya or Solo. They would only fuss over her and she could forget to play driver tonight. She had fought for her part tonight and she wouldn't give it up for such a minor injury.

The door of the hotelroom slammed shut and Gaby shrugged together. Quickly she put on the jumper and the trousers she would wear anyway tonight and stepped out of the bathroom.

"Where have you been?" Illya demanded, pointing his finger at her.

She crossed her arm and set her chin stubbornly.

"None of your business!" She shot back.

Solo looked at her as if he was disappointed with her answer. The American raised his eyebrows and they seemed to tell her that this was the false answer, that with her answer she would tip the Russian probably over the edge.

How could someone's eyebrows say so much she wondered.

She sighed, noticing the twitching of Illya's fingers.

"I was following a lead and you two were nowhere in sight!" Illya was probably so angry he couldn't say a word, but Solo did the talking.

"You shouldn't go on your own!"

Which made her only angrier.

"Why? You two go on your own all the time!" She yelled and her whole body shook in anger.

Solo sighed and rolled his eyes like he was talking to a teen. Illya on the other hand shouted back.

"You are inexperienced! This isn't your little chop shop!"

She could feel the anger rise again and so did the tears. How dare they treat her like a child. She was working hard to be a good spy. Gaby stomped past them.

"Where are you going?" Illya growled his accent getting thicker with every word.

"OUT!"

She slammed the door shot and stormed down the hallway. She couldn't hold back the tears anymore and she brushed them away angrily. They had told her she was doing great.

Even Waverly had praised how good she was doing and now this?!

Okay the mark had turned on her, but she had gained information and she had managed the situation.

"Miss Teller!" She looked up and immediately put on a mask.

She smiled at the thin man, who nervously played with his hat.

"Waverly sends me. He wanted me to show you the car!" Gustav takes her down into the garage of the hotel. There is a small car parked. Nothing special, but it has some tricks up its sleeves and he proudly shows them to her. Gaby let him have his moment.

After nearly two hours of listening to Gustav they return to the hotelroom. Waverly nods at them as they enter. He is just about to go over the briefing one last time.

Gaby doesn't look at her partners. She is still hurt and anger is still simmering in her belly. She leans against the wall trying to cover up that her body hurts more than she wants to admit and for once she prays that Illya nor Solo would see through her.

Illya leaves without talking to her and Solo gives her a nod.

"See you later pumpkin!" She rolls her eyes at him. How did he do this?


	2. Chapter 2

The night is quiet and cold.  
In most of the expensive houses is the light turned off.  
Gaby shivers and pulls her jacket closer.  
She had always thought that summer nights were supposed to be warm, but this.  
The little mechanic rubs her hands together and breathes into them to warm them a little.  
Suddenly there is a movement on the sidewalk.

She squints and quickly she slides down in her seat.  
The nightly walker passes her without even noticing her in the driver seat.  
She waits in the uncomfortable position and when she is sure he has passed, she comes up just to hiss in pain.  
Gently she brushes over her side.  
In the hotel she has to check it again before she would go to bed.

She drums her fingers against the steering wheel and then all of a sudden there are two more figures, but this time she recognizes them.  
Seconds later they are in the car and she races down the street.  
Solo in the back takes a look through the back window.

"I don't think we are followed. That was one smooth break in. You are quite a learner Peril!" Illya huffs at his partner.

"You would be lost without me, Cowboy!"

Gaby checks the rear view mirror and takes some extra detours to the hotel just to be sure.  
It's just at a red light when her side screams again and her head suddenly feels light.  
She blinks hard and pushes down the feeling.  
Soon she would be in the hotel and could pass out til the next morning.

She puts the gear in shift and smoothly drives the car to the hotel.

It's hard to get out of the car and Gaby breathes slowly through her teeth.  
She feels the Russian's eyes on her and composes herself.  
His gaze is burning hot on her.  
The little mechanic tries to ignore him and follows Solo upstairs.  
Luckily they take the elevator, but to her dismay Illya gets off with her.  
She had hoped that he would join Solo for a drink.

"Leave me alone!" She snaps as they are halfway down the hallway.

If he thought she would forget how he treated her early he is so wrong.

"Gaby" He starts, but she cuts him off.

"No, Illya… just leave me alone!" He lets her storm off.

In their room she heads straight to the bathroom and locks herself in.  
She braces herself against the sink, trying to force down the pain that is pulsing from her side.

A small voice demands her to tell Illya, but there is also the proud side.  
She can't get over it that Illya would be right.

Gaby hears him enter their room.  
Her ears make out his steps coming closer and stopping in front of the bathroom.

Exhausted she closes her eyes and waits.  
He waits too.  
The seconds tick by and then she hears him walk over to the couch.  
She huffs not quite sure what she had expected.

The little mechanic strips of the pullover.  
Ignoring the stabbing pain she peels of the bandage.  
The cut is angry red and warm to the touch.  
It had started bleeding again.  
She dresses the wound as quickly as possible and patches herself up as well as she can.

All dressed for the night and the used bandages hidden somewhere in the bathroom, where they hopefully won't be found by Illya, she leaves the bathroom.  
From the corner of her eye she can see the big Russian bent over a play of chess.  
He tenses up as she walks over to the bedroom.  
Illya even looks up.  
His gaze follows her until she disappears.

She gives the big bed an angry stare.  
She always had enjoyed the sharing.  
Gaby wasn't sure if Illya knew, but when he was finally truly asleep his arm would all so often snake around her middle and he would pull her close to him.  
She always woke, but enjoyed the comfort of his body and the heat, which was rolling off of him.  
Just around four in the morning.  
It always was like clockwork.  
He would let her go and she would roll to her side smiling and falling again asleep only to be woken two hours later by Illya getting up and go for a run, while she turned again to enjoy the last few minutes in bed.

Illya doesn't come.

She hears him in the living room getting ready for bed and then the light switches off.  
Guilt overcomes her and she chews on her lip as the bad conscience settles in her stomach as she knows all too well that Illya has to sleep on the tiny sofa.

The little mechanic can hardly sleep that night.  
There is no position for her aching body to fit it.  
So she spends the whole night with turning and adjusting.  
Finally there is soft light coming through the curtains and Gaby gets up.

Her head spins as she stands and she has to hold on to something.  
As the world around her seems to stand still she tiptoes through the living room.  
Illyas huge form is sprawled over the couch and again her stomach squeezes at the thought of him spending the night on the couch.

The hot shower feels like heaven, but it takes her longer to get dressed and ready for the day.  
Carefully she patches herself up and swallows the painkillers one of the uncle doctors had given her.


	3. Chapter 3

Solo awaits them in his room for breakfast.  
Gaby can't remember how it had started, but eventually they always met for breakfast in Solo's room.

Illya doesn't speak to her.

So when she can't no longer stand the silence as they walk down the hallway to the elevator she blurts "Why did you sleep on the couch?"  
He looks at her for the first time this morning.  
The tall Russian looks confused.

"You said, you wanted to be left alone!"

He shrugs and pushes the button for the elevator.  
Gaby stares at him.  
Her heart warms, but also the guilt raises.  
Maybe she had been too hard with the Russian.  
With a cheerful pling the elevator doors open and a man stomps out of it.  
Bumping into Gaby, quickly apologizes and rushes down the floor.

With a hiss she touches her side.  
The pain is flaring even though the painkillers should still dull it.

"Gaby? You're okey?" His voice and the concern in it lets her head snap up.

This was a mistake.  
The world around her spins and she can feel the cold sweat on her forehead.

"I'm fine!" She presses out, but she already knows she can't fool him anymore.

"You don't look good!" He sounds far away like she's suddenly under water.

She calms her breathing.  
Gaby doesn't want to pass out and she knows she is very close to it.

They enter the elevator and every step feels like she's wading through concrete.

Gaby focuses on a point in the elevator, feeling the gaze of Illya the whole time on her.  
She wants to look up at him and smile and tell him that she is truly okey, but she can't bring herself to move her head.  
She is certain if she does so she will lose it.

The pain stays dull at first, but as the elevator raises so do they.

The arriving pling on their floor sounds like heaven in her ears.  
The little mechanic can only think of one thing, to lay down on Napoleon's couch.

She steps forward, but her knees buckle and she falls forward.  
Illya catches her mid fall and hoist her up very carefully.

The pain is like fire raising in her body and she moans as he lifts her in his arms.  
Her hand looks for support.  
She catches the hem of his jacket, but she can't grab it properly.  
All strength seems to have left her.

Gaby hears Illya murmur something about stubborn and before she knows it they are in Solo's suite.

The American looks at them confused.

"What have you done now Peril?" He teases the Russian.

Illya ignores his friend and steps toward the sofa.  
Carefully he lowers the German woman.  
She whines and hardly can hold back a scream.

"Gaby? Can you hear me?" She can recognize Illya's voice or is it Solo?

It is hard to open her eyes.  
When did she close them?  
There is a face looming over her.  
She hardly can focus on it.

"Where does it hurt?" She pries her eyes away from those blue eyes and looks for the other voice.

* * *

Illya wants to punch himself for not seeing the signs earlier.  
He shouldn't have lost his temper maybe then she would have told him that she got hurt.  
He should have tried to apologize harder.  
He shouldn't have ignored that she had longer in the bathroom clearly indicating something was up.  
First of all he shouldn't have left her alone at the party.

Her eyes dart through the room, trying to focus on Solo, who repeats his question.  
Gaby tries to lift her arm, but she has no strength left and she whimpers again.  
She looks at Illya and he can see his fear mirrored in her eyes.  
Illya pushes away his rising anxiety.

He zips open her dress and peals it down to reveal a neatly made bandage.  
He has to give her that.  
His heart sinks and panic is rising in his chest, when he sees the wound.  
It is swollen and is leaking purulence.

"Call doctor!" He grits out.

Illya can see the American dart for the telephone from the corner of his eye, but his focus is again on the small German woman.  
Her face is pale and even her lips have a lack of color now.  
She watches him and her eyes are suddenly glazy with tears.

"I'm sorry Illya", she sniffles, "I just… I couldn't tell you. I was afraid you wouldn't let me come with you and I didn't want you to tell me you were right and Gustav he said..."

Tears are running down her face and Illya gently lets his finger run through her hair, trying to sooth the little mechanic.  
This is the first time he sees her cry and it makes him uneasy to know she must be in a lot of pain.  
As soon as Gustav's name comes out of her mouth he freezes.

"He knew?"

"No… I just asked him what to do and he told me to disinfect and put bandages on it… he said I would be fine!" She whimpers again.

Illya swears to wash that little pricks head if he sees him the next time.  
How dare he didn't tell them that Gaby had been hurt.

"Please, make it stop Illya! It hurts!" She groans and grips his hand.

He doesn't care that she squeezes his fingers hard until her knuckles are white.

"Doctor is on his way! It shouldn't be long!" Solo tells them and shrugs out of his jacket, rolling up the sleeves of his shirt.

Illya tries to ignore the haunted look Solo has in his eyes.

They both know all too well that Gaby walks a fine line between death and life right now.  
They both had lost people to this.  
They have seen it and neither one of them wants to speak it out loud that they could lose her in a matter of seconds.

"Please! Illya! Make it stop!" She moans and he's unsure what to do except for holding her hand and let his fingers be crushed.

All of a sudden her grip loosens and her hand falls and her eyes drift close.

Illya feels like someone just ripped the earth away beneath his feet and he blinks at her in shock.


	4. Chapter 4

"No!" He breathes and is hardly aware of Solo's hand on his shoulder.

"Peril! Calm down! She just passed out. Bring her to the table. The doctor must be here any second now!"

Illya hasn't realised that his whole body had started to shake.

There is a knock at the door.

"Do it now! The doc is here!" Solo barks at him.

Illya does what he's been told and gently lifts her up.  
She weighs nothing in comparison to others he had carried.  
This is not the first time, but it is probably the first time he's afraid, he's gonna lose her.

* * *

The doctor is a sturdy woman.  
She assesses quickly Gaby's condition and immediately gets to work.  
She talks to herself the whole time, but neither Solo nor Illya can understand her.  
She barks instructions at them.

"Hold her down!"

"Push her shoulder down!"

"Give me this!"

"Give me that!"

And so on.  
Illya does what she says without complaining and finally she is done.  
She looks down on Gaby.  
She has cleaned the wound and stitched it up.

"This was a very close call, agents. Why on earth's name did you wait so long?" The doctor glares at the two men like it is their fault.

Illya doesn't care nor does Solo.

"Thank you doc. I'll bring you to the door!" Solo leads her to the door and Illya bends down to pick Gaby up.

* * *

"Drink Peril?" The Russian nods and stares at the chess match in front of him.

Solo fills two tumblers and gives one to his friend.  
They sit in silence for a while.  
Solo takes out his newspaper and Illya plays against himself.  
After a while Solo stands up.

"Hungry Peril? I grab us a bite!" Illya doesn't look up.

The American knows he won't leave the little mechanic and besides Cowboy knows what to bring him.

* * *

Solo is long gone when Illya's head snaps up and he turns to find Gaby standing in the door frame.  
She looks better.  
There's even color to her cheeks.  
She still wears one of Solo's shirts he has put her in.  
He doesn't dare to move, afraid that he imagines the whole thing.

The German woman shuffles over to the couch and sits carefully down before she rolls herself into a ball.  
Her head resting on his leg.  
He puts a blanket over her and continues playing.  
Illya knows she is watching and it is all he needs.  
His fingers find their way every now and then in her hair.  
He plays with it and eventually her breathing evens out.

* * *

Solo returns with food after a while and Illya sees the small smile the American is hiding as he sees his partners on the couch.

Gaby doesn't wake while they eat in silence.  
Her head doesn't move from his leg nor does her hand on his knee.  
The tall Russian doesn't dare to move.

"Will you be fine, Peril?" Solo asks innocently as he leaves for a bar.

Illya is sure to look for a fling, but he is glad the American is leaving.  
He likes the time alone with Gaby.  
So he just nods and Solo leaves without a glance back.

"Oh god, I never thought he would leave!" Gaby's voice lets Illya nearly jump and she stretches with a bold grin on her face.

"You gonna lose your queen!" She chimes and turns to look at him.

He gives her one of his rare smiles.

"I would never lose my queen!" He rumbles and bents down to kiss her gently.

She places her hands on his cheeks and kisses him tenderly.  
When he pulls up to catch his breath he feels dizzy.  
Carefully he lifts her in his lap and brushes a hairstrand behind her ear.

The little mechanic looks at him and he could get lost in those brown eyes.  
She smiles and the whole world stops for him.

Everything was fine.

Gaby was fine and he kisses her again.


End file.
